FO:LACFC/2002/10

INTRODUCTION

1. The II Latin American Forestry Congress (CONFLAT) was held in Guatemala City, from 1 to 3 August, 2002. The theme was "Forestry goods and services, source of sustainable development". Its main aim was to examine trends and perspectives of Latin American forest goods and services, through the following thematic aspects:

• Sustainable forest management.
• Acknowledging the economic worth of forest environmental services.
• Civilian participation in forest management.
• Industry and commerce of forest goods and services.
• Forest information.
• International dialogue on forests and the role played by national forest programmes.

CONCLUSIONS

2. On matters concerning sustainable forest management in the Region, there are still factors and conditions of a political, educational, social, economic and institutional nature that restrict the feasibility of good management. These factors are subject to structural problems related to poverty, land tenure insecurity, inequality in the use of and access to resources, inconsistencies in political and institutional frameworks, weaknesses in agreements between production and conservation groups and the slow integration of productive chains.

3. The II CONFLAT acknowledged that strategies and actions are necessary to reduce the factors and conditions that restrict good forest management. Positive steps might include: incorporating the social base into forest management; using incentives hand in hand with an explanation of why they are used; incorporating ways to compensate environmental services; regulating land ownership; improved management planning; and using a wider range of forest products.

4. The use of different models for forest management planning persists in the Region. Their efficiency is possible as long as they do not result in higher operating costs; facilitate communication between owners and other forest users; and enable integration with other socio-productive sectors such as eco-tourism and energy. Technical-ownership links must be reinforced, the view of technicians and owners must be expanded to include other goods and services, the aspirations of social groups regarding forests should be taken into consideration and sub-national and local round tables for dialogue should be strengthened.

5. Within the existing tendency to generate forest management standards, it is recommended that these processes be participatory and transparent.

6. Within the region, and also in other geographic areas, there have been positive and negative findings regarding the economic value of forest environmental services. Positive findings emphasize the developing values, attitudes and markets. The negative findings underline the uncertainty, diminished clarity and insufficient levels of national and regional coordination on the topic, especially where negotiations are concerned. Part of the problem is the lack of awareness or knowledge about the full value of forests. Improvements are needed to present and promote the results of valuation studies in ways that are understood.

7. To the extent that the full value of the forest can be captured, it is a challenge to orient compensatory mechanisms toward more underprivileged social groups in order to alleviate poverty; and to find simplified methods of payment.

8. Some actions that might increase the acknowledgement of the economic worth of forest environmental services include: the creation of negotiating tables; education at different levels; the use of simple valuation methodologies; preparing co-investment projects (public and private sectors, NGO, municipalities, among others) and the generation of a minimum regulatory framework. In the field of public policies, the cost/benefit ratio of managing and using the forests should be taken into account as well as institutional modifications of management and control and the development of markets. Governments must support the design and operation of national operating systems of environmental services.

9. The Region has progressed as regards civilian participation in forest administration. However, the participation of local agencies in forest administration is overshadowed by social demands around environmental management and closely tied to topics concerning rural development. This decentralization of responsibility to local governments requires simple, clear, stable policies and rules as well as instruments for applying them.

10. Effective decentralization requires self-management by the groups involved, the organization of groups of producers, the establishment of coordinating mechanisms, the valuation of local knowledge and the exchange of information at local, sub-national and national levels. Successful examples of civil participation in forest administration are found in Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico and Peru.

11. In the sphere of forest industry and commerce, countries will help to increase their competitive positions by strengthening ties between producers, transformers and sellers; promoting species and products that are accepted and in demand on domestic and international markets; conducting market intelligence studies; strengthening small forest producers; identifying and encouraging niche markets; and linking forest operations to the demand for quality raw materials.

12. Industry that is based on both plantations as well as natural forests must take into account the use of quality genetic material, improve practices in nurseries and the fields, bring plantations closer to areas of industrial, commercial development and transport; train staff to optimize management, encourage the integral use of the tree with state-of-the-art technology, and facilitate the dissemination of technology.

13. When commercializing certified forest products in the case of community production, the state will need to play a subsidiary role until small enterprises acquire a greater management capacity. In the case of large corporations, the state should help to provide access to timely and accurate information, and to guarantee clear and long term rules.

14. In relation to the international dialogue on forests over the last decade, the subject of forests is playing an increasing role in international negotiations on sustainable development. There is an international framework consisting of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and other agreements related to forests. However, the Latin American region has not had a major influence in this framework due to the lack of information and a full understanding of the benefits of this dialogue. Hence, it is recommended that governments give higher priority to the implementation of agreements and continue to actively participate in the UNFF negotiations and strengthen cooperation with the CPF.

RECOMMENDATIONS

15. The II CONFLAT recommended that the Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commission would be an important venue to promote the implementation of international agreements regarding forests, including the importance of national forest programmes.

16. National forest programmes are key instruments for improving the management of forests. In practice, all countries in the region have a national forest programme. They are at different stages of development. Continuous attention is needed to strengthen the effectiveness of national forest programmes. In many countries, better linkages are needed with national development plans. Forest programmes simply must do a better job of linking with other sectors. Each country must find the form which increases the participation of different groups in the decision processes which affect its forests.

17. In the specific case of mangrove forests, the II CONFLAT approved the so-called Charter of Guatemala in defense of mangroves. This Charter includes principles and actions that guide the management and protection of this particular type of forest in the Region.